The U.S. economy continues to grow, weathering increasing reluctance among consumers to pay higher prices and businesses remaining “generally positive” about future demand amid expectations of lower interest rates. That is the picture painted by the Federal Reserve’s latest “beige book” – an informal summary of economic conditions around the country – released on Wednesday. … Read more
For months now, the historically reliable Conference Board’s leading economic index has signaled a recession ahead for the U.S. economy but it has not materialized. In December, slightly more than half the indicators were positive, although the overall index fell 0.1% following a 0.3% in the prior month. On Tuesday, markets and economists will get … Read more
Where does the economy go from here? That will be the question on the minds of consumers, economists and market watchers this week following back-to-back weeks of reports that showed the economy entered 2024 on a tear and with inflation heading back toward the Federal Reserve’s 2% annual target. Unfortunately, the economic data will be … Read more
Consumer sentiment edged down in November with expectations for future business conditions taking a sharp tumble. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index ended the month at 61.3, a 3.9% drop from the 63.8 in October. The current conditions index fell 3.3% to 68.3, while the future expectations index declined 4.2% to 56.8. However, there … Read more
Consumers continued to sour on the economic outlook in November while also growing more pessimistic about future inflation, according to the first estimate from the University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey. The index of consumer sentiment fell 5% to a reading of 60.4, down from 63.8 in October. The current economic conditions index fell to … Read more